This invention has relation to a toy, amusement device or other object which has a fixed static balance and which can be manually or otherwise propelled and will then orient itself in accordance with this predetermined balance and will return to a predetermined altitude. Such an object will include a relatively light gas impervious envelope filled with a lighter-than-air gas to counterbalance the weight of the enveloping structure.
It is known to create an aerial toy which is lighter than air and has to be tethered to keep it from escaping. See U.S. Pat. No. 1,858,460 to Ranseen, granted in May of 1932.
It is known to use a lighter-than-air gas to counterbalance the weight of an encompassing structure to produce a toy which is substantially weightless. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,975 to Terc, granted in July of 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,623 to Copstead, granted in October of 1971; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,777 to Schwartz, granted in August of 1977.
In the patent to Copstead, an inflatable toy balloon is disclosed which is designed to be filled by an aerosol-type container charged with a supply of helium under pressure. The charge in the container is sufficient to supply helium in an amount calculated to approximately counterbalance the weight of the balloon when the entire contents of the container is discharged into the balloon. The balloon has relatively thick walls and is resilient and highly stretchable. Washer-like ballast elements are provided to friction fit over the resilient balloon charging nipple to approximately counterbalance the lifting effect of the helium. No provision is made for limiting the lifting power of the balloon by limiting the size of the balloon to a maximum.
The patent to Schwartz discloses a decorative object 10 which can be filled with a lighter-than-air gas to form a weightless decorative object. Polyethylene terephthalate is suggested as one of the materials from which the skin of the object can be made. The object 10 is counterbalanced by adding weights 20 into a gondola 19 which is supported from the bottom of the object 10 by a string 17. The object of the invention is to provide a decorative object or toy which will hover at any given height and, the patent teaches, will be particularly useful as a decoration in a closed room. The Schwartz patent does not show a structure which will be useful as a toy which can be thrown back and forth between players or which can be used outside and which, regardless of wind currents and violent throwing of the toy, will eventually return to a predetermined altitude.
The patent to Terc discloses a bulbous body of rubbery material which can be inflated as a balloon, and which can be counterbalanced with weights which are detachable from the balloon and which are held on the balloon in the first instance with an adhesive coating of the pressure sensitive type. No provision is contemplated for initially applying and removing the weights in such manner as to leave the dynamic and static balance of the inflatable toy unchanged as weights are added to and/or taken away from the toy to maintain the lift-weight balance of the toy at a desired altitude.
In the examination of my above-identified application, in addition to the patents to Ranseen, Terc, Copstead and Schwartz, the Examiner cited the following:
______________________________________ U. S. PATENTS ______________________________________ 4,077,588 Hurst March 1978 46/87 1,508,420 Swartz et al September 1924 41/87 2,704,267 Tilden March 1955 425/Digest 109 3,075,243 Shipley January 1963 425/Digest 109 2,327,665 Peat August 1943 425/Digest 109 ______________________________________
Neither applicant nor those in privity with him know of any closer prior art than that identified above and/or discussed in this application or in the prosecution of the parent application; nor do they know of any prior art which anticipates the claims made herein.